France to increase military presence in the eastern Mediterranean


08/13/2020

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday evening his decision to increase the French military presence in the eastern Mediterranean over tensions between Greece and Turkey.



“I have decided to temporarily strengthen the French military presence in the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days in cooperation with European partners, including Greece,” Macron said on Twitter.

"The situation in the eastern Mediterranean is alarming. Turkey's unilateral decisions on oil exploration provoke tensions. It must be stopped to enable a peaceful dialogue between its neighbors and NATO allies," the French president said.

On August 10, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Athens and Ankara for solidarity and respect for international law in connection with the aggravation of relations between these two members of the North Atlantic Alliance.

"Today I spoke with Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis about the situation in the eastern Mediterranean. The situation must be resolved in the spirit of allied solidarity and in accordance with international law," the NATO head tweeted last Monday.

A day earlier, the European Union expressed its concern about military activity in the eastern Mediterranean, where disputes over the delimitation of economic zones for oil and gas drilling have intensified.

source: reuters.com